SLC Punk!
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: April 16, 1999 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
50
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
10
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
A hearty style of self-referential filmmaking that only adds to the persuasiveness of Lillard’s stunning performance. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
[Lillard's] performance dominates the film, and he does a subtle, tricky job of being both an obnoxious punk and a kid in search of his direction in life. He's very good. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
A surprisingly genial and affecting comedy about the trials and tribulations of teenage rebellion during the Reagan '80s.
75
Entertainment WeeklyMichael Sauter
For a while, angry young Stevo (Lillard) turns his quest for total anarchy into a grungy, giddy, randomly violent rave. Then reality creeps up and, well, it bites. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyHazel-Dawn Dumpert
Ultimately a wiser and truer film than its crass and cartoony beginnings would have us believe. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The film has an undeniable energy, and, at times, it works as light entertainment, but there is a problem. The central character is consistently aggravating. Read full review
63
San Francisco ExaminerWesley Morris
It's handsome filmmaking that doesn't surface until the final 25 minutes during which Stevo and company's sense of marginalization achieves the palpable, emotional import that's more expressive than anything its characters' have to bitch about. Read full review
60
Village VoiceAmy Taubin
Merendino's most innovative directorial strategy is to collapse present and past by having Lillard shout Stevo's reflections about his youthful rebellion directly at the camera, while the scene he's describing in the past tense takes place behind him. I know it sounds like a Brechtian affectation, but it works. Read full review
60
Washington PostRita Kempley
Lillard, who played the squirrelly Stuart in "Scream," brings a mischievous sense of humor and an easygoing charm to his potentially unsympathetic character. Read full review
60
NewsweekAndrea C. Basora
We don't really need some young punk to tell us that anarchy is an untenable idea, but watching him live it is an invigorating experience. Read full review
50
SalonMary Elizabeth Williams
The movie starts out as a sweet piece of hardcore pie, full of energy and "Repo Man"-esque satire, but ultimately deteriorates into a Percodan-flavored "Afterschool Special." Read full review
50
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
Likable for its outlandishness, less so when it shows a self-important streak. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Stack
So forced and contrived in delivery that it's tedious. That's not good when the intention is to be audacious. Read full review
40
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Ultimately, SLC Punk! doesn't have enough dimension to maintain dramatic interest. Read full review
40
VarietyDennis Harvey
Energetic but poorly structured. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Merendino's film is lacking the streamlined cohesion it needs to spike itself in your cortex as hoped, but it is about as accurate a punk film as I've seen in some time, especially when it comes to the horrors and boredoms of small-scene life. Read full review
40
Film ThreatTom Meek
What begins as a poetically offbeat comedy, full of energy and verve, turns woefully mundane as the protagonists become introspective and enlightened. Read full review
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
Though Lillard's excitable tone keeps promising wild comic adventures, the sequences are uniformly flat and humour-free. Read full review
33
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
It's an unenlightening film that proves youthful anarchy is just as dull as a midlife crisis, and sadly, as predictable, too. Read full review
30
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Very possibly the most ruthlessly irritating comedy since the dreaded "S.F.W." attempted to put its finger on the pulse of young America, and that's saying something. Read full review
30
New Times (L.A.)Michael Sragow
What it offers at its shockingly sappy core is a familiar view of adolescent rebellion as a goofy but inevitable phase. Read full review
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